Why Not Utah “Dry”?

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Why Not Utah "Dry?" BY JOSEPH S. PEERY.

Utah is bounded on the north by a "dry" state, on the east by a "dry" state, on the south by a "dry" state. Why not Utah be a "dry" state? Certainly, our high ideals stand for total ab- stinence from intoxicating liquor. It seems that our boys still have to run the gauntlet of saloons, in Salt Lake City and Ogden, on account of the expediency of business, and for political rea- sons. Men high up in finance ardently declare that the existence of saloons adds to the prosperity of the country. Yet a promi- nent traveling business man, who knows commercial conditions in many inter-mountain towns, a few months ago, remarked "The deadest town in Idaho and every one knows it to be so, is a whiskey town, and the liveliest town in Idaho, as every one knows, is a 'dry' town." This statement was confirmed by the manager of a large wholesale establishment in Salt Lake City "I can tell from my books the 'dry' counties from the 'wet' coun- ties in Idaho. In the 'dry' counties business is good and col- lections are good in the 'wet' counties, there is hardly any use ;

going for business." At the present time, Idaho is in the desir- able condition of having all the saloons closed. Note how the Gem state will push ahead in economic conditions! This has been proved in Maine. In 1855, Maine was, to use the language of General Neal Dow: "One of the most drunken and poorest states in the Union, there being seven distilleries and two breweries in Portland alone." In 1855, there were but five savings banks in Maine, with less than $90,000 deposited. Forty- five years ago Maine adopted prohibition, and today let us com- pare Maine with some other states more fertile and more favor- ably situated for the development of wealth. In 1902, Maine had in her savings banks $113,000,000. In December, 1907, Maine had more savings banks and $22,000,000, more money deposited than Ohio with six times as many people. In 1901, Maine had in her savings banks $95 for every inhabitant ;Illinois, $13 ; and Ohio, $10. Adjoining Maine is the favorably situated state, Mas- sachusetts. In ten recent years Maine decreased its indebtedness $10 per capita, while Massachusetts, increased her indebtedness $10 per capita. In Massachusetts 18% of the people own their own homes in Maine 49 per cent. Maine has 125 insane for ;

every 100,000 inhabitants Massachusetts has 288 for every 100,- ;

0. There are 77 prisoners per 100,000 in Maine; in Massa-

644 IMPROVEMENT ERA chusetts, 232 per 100,000. In Portland, Maine, there were 84 arrests to every 10,000 people, while in high license Boston there were 426 arrests. In prohibition Kansas, taxes are low, and most the boys and girls do not even see liquor. In 1907, fifty counties in Kansas did not furnish the state penitentiary a single criminal and 35 of the 105 Kansas counties had their jails absolutely empty. Where prohibition goes into effect, people are not burdened with heavy expense to keep the paupers turned out by saloons, to furnish the police force needed to care for criminal products of saloons, and to pay the high court costs needed to prosecute sa- loon products. New York receives about $8,000,000 from_^aloon.s, and pays $12,000,000 for police. Boston receives about $1,500,000 from saloons, but expends about $3,000,000 for police protection. Saloons do not build a town nor a state, no more than they build up the men who frequent them. Whatever affects the in- dividual affects the community. It is not true that prohibition will hurt a town financially nor in any other way. "Wealth is produced by the hand and the brain. Liquor injures the hand and the brain; therefore, liquor injures the productive power of every industry." Utah needs the best thought and work of its inhabitants. We have no boys nor men to spare. We need men with clear heads, clear eyes, steady nerves, to develop our great industries. Why should our young men and our working men have the terrible saloon temptation before them in our chief cities? It is wrong that such condition exists. Close the saloons, and the money "spent for booze will be spent for shoes." Close the saloons and the people will be better fed and better clothed. Close the saloons and there will be more happy homes, more wives and children kindly treated, and more money will be deposited in the banks. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that go out of Utah for liquor will remain here to help build up Utah. How can we get prohibition in Utah? The same way the voters obtained it in the eighteen "dry" states. Vote for men who favor prohibition. Just as soon as you vote for men who favor closing saloons, and thereby show that you are in real earn- est in helping the young men of Utah by removing the saloon temptation from them, just that soon will the politicians of all parties come in haste to uphold you in doing so, and we will have laws on our statute books forbidding the sale of liquor through- out the state. In fact, let us demand of all the political parties that this year they incorporate in their platforms prohibition planks. Then let the voters see that no man is elected to office who will not stand strong for prohibition. Let us all remember, as William McKeever says in his good book, Training of the Boy: "You will save your own boy from

WHY NOT UTAH "DRY"? 645

drink best, as you attempt to serve similarly the interests of all other boys in your town. You should vigorously oppose, in every honorable way, the poisonous, damning effects of the open saloon. In making his fight against the liquor traffic, one can afford to proceed above board, and in the open. One of the best ways to save your boy from the drink habit is to enlist him in the fight against the saloon." Some moral men say, "I do not drink liquor myself," but these same moral men will uphold laws permitting other men who are weak to easily "go to hell, if they want to." Is it not our duty to ourselves, to our neighbor, and to our Maker, to say, "I am my brother's keeper, and if I can aid my brother, with God's help I propose to do so" ? Prohibition is an economic as well as a moral question. Business men are finding out that it does not pay to drink in- toxicants. They are quitting it, and are insisting on their em- ployees being absolutely sober. They are finding out that the best way to get sober employees is to close the saloon temptation from the employees. "Dry" towns, everywhere, are forging ahead of "wet" towns. One state after another is falling in line. Let Utah not be the last state to show that we believe the Lord is right when he says to us "That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink :

among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father."

A Good Word from a Friend Elder Melbourne Romney, Watertown, New York, March 28: "Elder Monroe Bird Tew and I have been laboring here for the past five weeks trying to open up a branch of the Albany conference. We find the ministers very much opposed to the doctrines of 'Mormonism.' They have done all they could to harm us by having slanderous articles published in the papers. The papers have favored the ministers on some occasions and published articles for us at several different times. Mr. Frank L. Cory of Provo, a non-'Mormon' and former resident of Watertown, and a former member of its police force, wrote a splendid article to the local papers of Watertown giving his impressions of the 'Mormon' people as he had found them in Utah. They were liberal, kind, good citizens, and had treated him with great courtesy and kind- ness. Since his article appeared the people are listening to us more readily. We visited the chief of police twice to obtain permission to speak on the streets. He denied us the privilege. The mayor treated us very nicely, and we sold him a 'Book of Mormon,' a Woice of Warn- ing.' and 'Rays of Living Light.' We have met a number of the min- isters some of whom are reading our literature. On visiting the pub- lic library we found that they had two Books of Mormon, one a very old one, bearing the date of 1830. They also had three volumes of the 'History of the Church,' all of which have been read a number of times. We hope to establish a good branch here."